Retiree stays faithful in school volunteer efforts

Thursday

Oct 4, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Three years ago, Terry Yeager entered his wife's classroom at Welcome Elementary as a volunteer, and he never turned back.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

WELCOME | Three years ago, Terry Yeager entered his wife's classroom at Welcome Elementary as a volunteer, and he never turned back."Why didn't I do it earlier?" he said of his volunteer efforts. "I should have been doing it a long time ago."Yeager, 63, continues to volunteer in his wife's kindergarten class. He was recognized for his efforts as the 2010-11 Welcome Elementary Volunteer of the Year.April Yeager, who has been teaching kindergarten for 19 years at Welcome Elementary, said her husband volunteering is "valuable" for her classroom. She has been in education for 21 years."He loves to work with the children," the wife said. A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Terry Yeager worked in the business sector for more than 40 years. He was a partner in an asset management company and retired in August 2011 to be the sole caregiver for his parents, both of whom died earlier this year.The husband began volunteering when his wife's teacher's assistant was out sick."I came in one day and realized what world I had been missing, and it just snowballed from that," Terry Yeager said. "These kids are great. These people (faculty at Welcome Elementary) here are dynamite. The administration here and everybody I interface with, these people are unbelievable."Terry Yeager, who received his bachelor's degree in business from the University of Buffalo, spends on average 10 to 20 hours a week volunteering at the school."The most important thing you can do is give (the children) your time," he said. "Any time you give them, they are little sponges. They eat it up."The husband makes copies, cuts out items for his wife and assists her with anything she needs to prepare the classroom for students."I can save half of my day if parents would listen to us at the beginning of the year and invest in Velcro because I tie a lot of shoelaces all the time," he said with a laugh.Terry Yeager reflected on his award from the 2010-11 school year."I cried like a baby when they gave it to me," he recalled. "It was very nice. I didn't need it, and there are a lot of people around here who do a lot more than I do."The most rewarding thing for Terry Yeager is running into students in the community who remember him from previous school years."It's the recognition you get from them," he said.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.